3 Best Restaurants in Washington Heights and Inwood, New York City

Set in a gorgeous restored fieldstone cottage in Fort Tryon Park, just minutes from The Met Cloisters (the restaurant takes its name from the medieval cloister and herb garden here), this is a welcome addition to one of upper Manhattan's most beautiful parks. It offers French à la Northern California cuisine, a curated wine list, a contemporary but character-filled space with 14-foot ceilings, crisp white tablecloths, and a leafy outdoor terrace to enjoy a leisurely weekend brunch while you listen to the cacophony of birdsong around you. Dinner highlights include the mussels in tarragon white wine broth with a crusty baguette and the grilled whole trout. In summer, grab a delicious homemade ice cream to stroll the park. Live music (or a bartender taking requests for record selections), candlelight, and excellent service add to the specialness of this little gem in the woods.

Just try sitting still at this lively outpost of a popular restaurant of the same name in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Set in the new Radio Hotel in Manhattan's Washington Heights neighborhood, home to the largest Dominican community in the United States, the Latin rhythms are playing, the waiters are swaying, and the diners---mostly locals---are breaking into song with every chorus. Add delicious tropical cocktails like the signature Mamajuana Manhattan with sweet vermouth and house-made mamajuana (a spiced rum; it's the national drink of the Dominican Republic), sizzling bocaditos (snacks), and vibrant furnishings that include authentic carnival masks and D.R.-crafted cane-back chairs and stay-a-while banquettes, and you'll feel you have been transported to the Caribbean island. Menu musts include the croquetas de chivo (braised goat croquettes), sea bass ceviche served with crunchy plantain and cassava chips, chicharrón y casabe (hunks of crispy pork belly served with caramelized plantains), pecao frito (deep-fried red snapper), and seafood mofongo. It will be hard to leave room for dessert but you deserve the delicious cinco leches Dominicana soaked sponge cake. A spacious attached courtyard takes this party outdoors with live music in summer.

While it's best known for its chicken, a visit to this no-frills Dominican restaurant in Washington Heights should also include mofongo, a traditional Dominican dish of mashed plantains and crispy pork skin. Order a combo platter to try a variety of flavors; parrillada de carne comes with chicken, skirt steak, pork chops, and Dominican sausage. If you're in the area in the morning, you should try the mangú tres golpes, a traditional Dominican breakfast of mashed green plantains with fried eggs, salami, and fried cheese. There's a second location on Amsterdam Avenue and 97th Street.